Philippe Park - For History, For Fun

The Entrance to Philippe Park

Philippe Park is a 122-acre park in Pinellas County, Florida. (Photo by cvanthul)

Playground at Philippe Park

Philippe Park offers 3 playgrounds for the kids. (Photo by cvanthul)

When we checked the next day’s weather on Saturday, it
called for rain, a real damper on our plans.
But the clouds pushed through overnight, and the day dawned clear,
breezy and sunny. Typical blue Florida
skies hosted delicate clouds. We had planned
to visit one of our county parks and with the beautiful weather, we packed the
fishing rods and cooler and headed out for a family afternoon.

Pinellas County maintains some of the finest parks I’ve ever
seen. The county is basically a
peninsula on Florida’s west coast in the Tampa Bay area. It is surrounded by water with the Gulf of
Mexico to the west and Tampa Bay to the east.
Starting in 1948, Pinellas County began acquiring land through purchases
and donations, and creating free parks for the county residents and visitors.

Philippe Park is the oldest park in the county, acquired in
1948. It offers 122 acres on the county’s
eastern shore with one mile of shoreline along Old Tampa Bay. The park has lots to offer visitors. Covered pavilions can be rented for group
functions or birthday parties. Uncovered
picnic tables are first-come first-served and also have grills. The boat ramp gives boaters easy access to
Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. One
mile of shoreline and seawall stands ready for fishermen or walker, and
periodic benches or flat grassy areas give couples and families perfect places
to enjoy the views of the Bay. Three
playgrounds and a ball field provide sporting and play fun for all ages. Like most of the Pinellas County parks, Philippe
Park has been thoughtfully planned out and is a popular place for exercise and
relaxation for the local residents.

Fishing at Philippe Park

Fishing is one of the many activities available to visitors at Philippe Park. (Photo by cvanthul)

The park holds historical significance for two reasons. First, it’s the site of Count Odet Philippe’s
160 acre plantation which he purchased in 1840.
Count Philippe was the county’s first permanent, non-native
settler. A successful businessman, he
introduced citrus and cigar-making to the Tampa Bay area. When he died in 1869 he was buried on his
plantation, and though the exact site of his grave is unknown it is believed to
be somewhere within the park, which is named for him.

Philippe Park’s more historical significance lies in the
presence of an Indian mound. Indian
mounds in Florida are rather abundant. There were 14 between Tampa and Sarasota,
seven of which still remain. Indian
mounds came in three distinct varieties – the burial mound, the midden (or
trash pile), and the ceremonial mounds.
The mound in Philippe Park was a ceremonial mound. It stands approximately 20 feet tall and is approximately
100 feet at each side at the base. A
building likely once stood atop the mound, perhaps the chief’s dwelling or a
ceremonial building.

Tocobago Temple Mound

Several plaques share educational information about the temple mound and the Tocobago Indians with visitors. (Photo by cvanthul)

The site of the Philippe Park mound is believed to be the
capital of the Tocobago civilization which lived in Pinellas County from 900 to
the late 1700s. In 1968 it was
designated an historic site by the National Park Service. The mound is located along the shore, with
beautiful views of Old Tampa Bay through the oak tree canopy. Stairs on two sides and a ramp on a third
side provide access to the top of the mound.

On this Sunday the park is filled with people. The picnic pavilions overflow with families
and a Habitat For Humanity event.
Walkers, parents and children, and fishermen amble along the
shoreline. Elderly couples and groups of
teens sit under the hundreds of oak trees, laughing or talking, enjoying the
warm weather and beautiful day. A
constant stream of people climb the stairs to the top of the Indian mound.

Sitting under the oaks at the base of the mound, Tampa Bay’s
waters lap at the seawall a few feet away from me. For a moment, I don’t see jet-skiers racing
in the waters or people clad n shorts and t-shirts enjoying their Sunday. For a moment, I see an earthen ramp leading
from the top of the mound to a plaza filled with women and children. I see the land sloping to shell-strewn
beaches where men clamber out of dugouts.
Instead of airplanes and jet ski motors, I hear the wind pushing through
dried palm fronds and the muted voices of the village.

View from Indian Mound

The view of Old Tampa Bay from the top of the Indian mound. (photo by cvanthul)

It’s easy to see why the Tocobago would have chosen this
site for their capital. Easy access to
the water, beautiful views, and a sheltered location would have invited them to
settle here and build a life, as much as the site later invited Count Philippe
to build his plantation and now invites the visitors to Philippe Park to settle
down for a few hours and enjoy the outdoors.

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